Finding Mercury
by Firery Ice
Summary: In a first season AU, Mercury has yet to be found, and the Senshi are in dire need of her help. Meanwhile, Rei meets and falls for a girl named Ami. As the two become closer, they find their destinies are more closely intertwined than they thought.
1. Chapter 1

Finding Mercury: The Meeting

'"_Mars! Save me!" Rei turned to see a girl in a blue sailor suit, reaching out to her. _

"_How?" Rei reached out her hand to see if she would take it. Just as their hands touched, there was a bright light and all disappeared._

"_Find me…Find Sailor Mercury!"'_

_*XXX*_

Rei sat up in her bed and looked around, bewildered. She ran a hand through her hair, sighing. "As usual, it was simply a dream." Shaking it off, she began preparing herself for school.

'_I'm gonna be late… WHY did I stay after for archery? Geez I-'_"Ow!" Rei had been hurrying down the street, trying to get home in time for her study group. However she had just run into an obstacle…A distantly familiar one. Sitting below her, rubbing her head, was a girl about her age, wearing a school uniform. _'It looks like Usagi's…' _

"I'm terribly sorry about that. I really shouldn't walk and read!" A blush covered her pale face, and Rei found herself rushing to reassure her.

"Oh, it was my fault too. I'm in a bit of a hurry. Let me help you-"Rei gasped when their hands touched. For a split second, the girl in her dream came to mind, but she quickly shook it off.

"Are you all right?" Rei came back to reality to see the girl waving a hand in front of her face.

"Oh yes, I'm fine Miss…"

"Ami. Mizuno Ami."

"I am Hino Rei. While I wish we could have met under better circumstances, it was a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Ami smiled and blushed at her politeness, and Rei found she was also blushing. _'That smile…Where could I have seen it before?'_ Blinking, she remembered why they were meeting in the first place.

"I'm sorry to rush off like this, but I have to go!" Rei turned and continued to run down the sidewalk, leaving Ami to stare at the hand Rei had held. _'It's so warm…'_

_*XXX*_

"And that's where the dream ends, Luna." Rei sighed as she finished recounting the vision.

One of the girls at the table, Usagi, scrunched her nose in thought. "Now that you mention it, where is Sailor Mercury? We have Jupiter, Mars, Venus, Earth, even the Moon! Why not Mercury?"

Luna sighed. "I don't know, Usagi. I haven't been able to sense her at all. I think her power may have been blocked somehow, which would mask her aura from us."

Another girl, Makoto, clenched her fist. "Well. Where ever she is, we could use her help. You said she's a strategist, right?"

"That's correct, but I-"

Minako interrupted her. "Well, that's perfect! Let's compile a list of the smartest teenage girls in Japan and see if they react.

Usagi perked up at this idea. "I know exactly where to start! There's this girl at my school, she's a real genius! Her name's Mizuno…Mizuno…"

"Ami?" Rei looked up. _'What a coincidence!"_

"Yeah! Do you know her?"

"No, I just happened to meet her in passing on the way here."

"Anyhow," Makoto cut in, "where would we find the time? Nephrite has been attacking left and right!" The entire room went silent as they all pondered this.

Luna spoke up again. "We really don't have time for this. Mercury will awake when destiny decides it is time, and not a single second before." She paused and stared at Rei. "You really don't remember a thing else about her, other than the dream, Mars?"

Rei narrowed her eyes at the phrasing. "No, but should I?"

"N-no, just wondering."

*XXX*

It was a few days later, after school, and Ami was walking to her cram school_. 'I wonder if I'll see her again…She was so beautiful. But I feel as if I've met her before, somehow.'_ She stared down at her hand. _'That tingling sensation when pour hands touched, just what was that, anyways?'_ Aloud she said, "Maybe some sort of buzzer?"

"Buzzer?" Ami jumped at the voice behind her.

"Rei? What are you doing?"

"Never mind that, what buzzer?" Although Usagi had already told her, Rei felt she needed to confirm that Ami did indeed go to Juuban Middle.

"That was simply me thinking aloud. Where are you headed?"

"I'm on my way home, and you?"

"I am headed towards my cram school."

"Oh, is it the one on fifth, where the bus is?"

"Yes, that's exactly it."

Rei felt happiness bubble up. "I take that bus, would you like me to walk you to the school? _'Why do I want to spend time with her?'_

"But you'd have to catch a later bus…" As much as Ami wanted Rei to go along with her, she didn't want to be an inconvenience.

"Oh, it's no problem; my friends are never on time anyways." Rei waved a hand dismissively.

Ami was extremely disappointed when they quickly arrived at her school. Rei had been so easy to talk to, and they shared some common interests. Rei also smiled a bit sadly. "Well, I suppose this is where we say good bye."

Ami bowed gratefully. "Thank you for-"She was cut off by some children who bumped into her, throwing her off balance. Just as she felt herself descend to the ground, she caught against something soft. Ami reveled in the feel for a moment. As she felt arms tighten around her, she realized Rei had caught her. _'She's not only soft, she incredibly warm! I feel like I'm sitting in front of a fire!'_

"Are you okay, Ami?" Rei had become worried when her friend hadn't stood up; however, she seemed fine, if a bit dazed.

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you. For everything." Ami smiled at her before waving and turning to enter the building.

Rei smiled back and waved until Ami was inside. Just as she lost sight of her however, she noticed a small disk at her feet_. 'Now where did this come from?'_

_*XXX*_

"Nephrite! You have mixed reviews when it comes to your plans to gather energy for our great ruler. What do you intend to do now?"

A tall man with long brown hair bowed before his mistress, Queen Beryl. "In schools across Japan, students and teachers spend lots of energy cramming and reviewing. I plan to attack one such school made especially for that purpose."

Queen Beryl narrowed her eyes. "Very well, but know the price of failure."

"Yes, My Queen."

*XXX*

"It looks like a normal disk to me, guys." Rei frowned at Luna's statement.

"I get a bad feeling from it is all. If there's really nothing wrong, I ought to return it to her."

"Wait! What's this program?" Luna began tapping faster at the keys with her paws before gasping. "This is a program form the Dark Kingdom! It's intended to slowly suck the energy from you!"

Rei's eyes widened. "Ami's in trouble! We have to help her." _'I have to help her!"_

Luna sighed. "Are you sure about that, Rei?"

"Wh- what do you mean?"

"I mean who knows how many minions Nephrite has under him? Ami could be one of them!"

Rei clenched her fists. "That's not true! Ami is a good person, and I have to save her!" Without waiting for the opinions of her friends, she dashed from the temple.

*XXX*

Ami frowned as she stared at the screen. _'First I lose my disk, and now I can't concentrate. Gosh, this program makes my headache. I'd prefer to just write it all down.'_

Nephrite watched the classroom from the door. "Alright, Bunbo, give me lots of energy!" He threw open the door and let the monster inside.

"I am Bunbo; I am here to collect your energy!"

Ami looked in fear at the monster that had suddenly appeared in the middle of the room._ 'We have no way to call for help… What can we do?' _She coughed as the monster blew out some sort of smoke. Everyone around her began to moan as they dropped to the floor, unconscious. Only she remained upright, but she could feel herself getting weaker.

"You there! Why have you not fallen prey to my dust? No matter, I will take your energy myself!" Ami screamed in fear, then pain as Bunbo grabbed her head and shook it. She could feel claws digging into her skin, and tears formed.

"LET ME GO!" She felt a burst of power, and heard Bunbo's surprised shout.

"What's this mark on your forehead?" Before anything else could happen, another voice interrupted, and the mark abruptly faded.

"That's far enough!" Ami weakly turned to see a figure standing in the mysterious fog that seemed to have half formed. The figure stuck out their hand at pointed at Bunbo. At once, a burst of flame erupted and headed straight for them. The monster threw her to the side, and Ami saw everything go black as her head hit the floor.

*XXX*

"Ami? Are you awake?" Ami groaned as she came to. She looked around, and could see there was still a battle going on. _'Those must be the Sailor Senshi… They fight monsters.'_ She suddenly noticed the beautiful girl in front of her. She wore a sailor suit with a white body and a red skirt. A large purple bow and a small mask adorned her face and chest.

"Are you okay?" She asked softly, amethyst eyes filled with concern.

"I-I-"Ami struggled to talk_. 'Do I have a concussion?'_

"Can you stand?" She nodded, but still need assistance to get on her legs. As soon as she was upright, however, she collapsed half way to the ground, and the mysterious girl held up.

"I can't very well let you stay like this…up you go." Ami gasped softly as she was lifted into her arms. Once again, she felt dizziness overtake her and blackness crept at the edges of her vision.

"Who…are you?" The girl smiled down at her, and she heard a faint whisper as all went dark again.

"I am Sailor Mars."

*XXX*

Ami felt the faint sensation of being carried, but the next time she was fully alert, she was on a park bench, with someone sitting next to her. As her vision cleared, she was slightly shocked to see her new friend.

"Rei? How did you get here? How did I get here?"

Rei put a finger to her lips. "Well, that I don't know. What do you remember?"

Ami frowned as she tried to remember. "I- There was a girl, one of the Senshi. She saved me." Ami blushed. "I hope I get to see her again. I really would like to thank her." _'She was so cool!'_

Rei smiled mysteriously at her. "Well, who knows? Maybe you just met your knight in shining armor." _'I will definitely protect her.'_

_A/n: Would you look at that? This is the first chapter of my 2015 project: Finding Mercury. In addition to GOF and Shining Pearls (Which I can assure you will be finished by Summer and Winter respectively) I will be writing this story. I can't give a confirmation of whether I'll be updating regularly yet though. As always, please give comments and criticisms on what you thought. Until next time, vale!_


	2. Chapter 2

Finding Mercury - Park Madness

*XXX*

"This isn't the usual way, Ami. Where are we going?" Rei was walking Ami to cram school, as had become their routine over the past few weeks. Today, though, Ami was taking a different route.

"There's someone I want you to meet, I think you'll like him." Rei felt her heart clench. "Does she have a boyfriend? She's never mentioned one.'

Out loud she said, "Oh, what's he like?"

Ami smiled mysteriously. "He's a nice guy, I've known him since I was a child. He's a great friend." Rei raised her eyebrows. _'Alright, it's time I meet this guy!'_

_*XXX*_

Rei felt extremely foolish as she watched Ami interact with her friend. He wasn't some school boy- He was a grown man! His name was Mr. Shinji and he was the slightly aged gardener for the park. She looked around at the blooming flowers. 'They're so beautiful!' Then, another quick vision came to her. She stood in a field of flowers, and heard someone call her name.

_"Rei! Rei!"_

"Rei?" She was brought back by Ami peering curiously at her. "Are you okay? You looked dazed for a moment there!" Rei smiled to show she was okay. Ami picked out one of the flowers and held it out to her.

"What's this?"

"Mr. Shinji says that this flower shows eternal friendship. I hope that we can be friends forever." She pinked at her words. "I know it sounds childish…"

"No! I hope we can be friends for a long time!" Rei blushed back. _'Even though we've never met, I feel like we've said these exact words before…"_

Then Ami gained a sad look. "It's so sad….This park won't be here for much longer"

"What?"

"Mr. Shinji said they plan to cement it over and build a shopping center." She clutched her school bag. "I have so many great memories here."

Rei felt her heart ache at the look on her friend's face. 'I have to do something!" Then, a couple on the lake caught her eye. "Well, let me help you make some more! Tomorrow, let's go for a boat ride." Ami broke out in a wide smile, showing her answer was yes.

*XXX*

"Nephrite! What is the meaning of this? You escaped with very little energy for our great leader."

Nephrite felt a trickle of sweat run down his forehead. "My Queen, I had not counted on the…ferociousness the sailor Senshi showed. It will be taken care of this time."

"And just WHAT do you plan on doing?"

He smirked. "I shall use nature against them."

*XXX*

"You're late. Again." Luna snapped at Rei, who had just rushed in.

Rei scowled back. "I was busy, and you guys know to just start studying without me!"

Luna narrowed her eyes. "If you hadn't been so distracted, you would know today is strategy, not study." She cleared her throat. "As I was saying, I very briefly felt Mercury a couple of weeks ago. She may have been a civilian involved in the fight. Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing which one she was."

Usagi frowned. "Do you remember which fight it was? Maybe if it was at the cram school we could somehow obtain a list of students. But we also had that showdown in Dreamland with Jadeite…"

Luna shook her head. "I can't remember when it was. By the time I had recognized it as Mercury, I had forgotten."

Makoto sighed. "So basically, all we know is that she is alive, and one of the many citizens of Juuban, or maybe a tourist! This is getting us nowhere. Maybe we should concentrate on Nephrite, you said it yourself: She'll get here when she gets here."

*XXX*

Shinji was once again pleading with the park manager. "Please, you can't let them do this! This park is a beautiful place! Everyone wants loves to come here and play, or just relax."

The park manager scowled at him. "We have discussed this before. Parks are becoming less popular, kids want to go to malls nowadays. It's time you retired anyhow, spend time with you family."

Shinji stared back resolutely. "I will not let this happen. With every fiber of my being, I will oppose and find some way to stop this from happening."

The manager stared back. "And just how do you plan to do that? You are nothing but a simple gardener. Now get out! I have important documents to go over.

Shinji clenched his fists as he exited the building_. 'Just you watch me!'_

_*XXX*_

Nephrite watched the man stare at the lake. He had been listening to the whole argument, and knew what to do. _'This man's passion for the park creates so much energy. Not only that, parks are full of life, the yield will be massive.'_

He quietly walked over to Shinji. "I couldn't help but over hear your conversation. From the way I see it, the reason the park is being sold is for the money, correct?" At the gardener's nod, he continued. "Well, I happen to be a very wealthy and influential man, and a complete nature lover. I would do anything to save this park, so I would like to give you this." With that, he handed Shinji a check, which he saw was for an obscene amount of cash.

"How do I know you're good for it? Who are you, anyways?"

Nephrite chuckled. "Well that's not important. Just know that I AM good for it. I saw the manager taking a jog over by the flower bed. Maybe you could catch him?"

Shinji watched the manager go past the flower bed. _'This is simple; I just intercept him and show him the check. Problem solved!_' Then, he saw the man was smoking and had just dropped the butt on the ground, not even bothering to check if it was properly extinguished. Shinji grew unreasonably angry, and stuck out his hand, eyes glowing slightly.

"Creatures of the forest; do my bidding!" Suddenly red eyed squirrels seemed to come out of nowhere. They surrounded the manager, chattering demonically, before attacking him.

"Help, help me! Please, I'll never bother this park again…!"

*XXX*

Rei glanced over at Ami, who had been unusually silent. "Hey, is something wrong?"

Ami continued to stare sadly at the ground. "Mr. Shinji was acting strange when I went to go see him yesterday. He said I didn't deserve to enjoy the boons of nature; that no one did. He's usually so welcoming; I thought it was a bit strange."

Rei bit her lip. _'This is really bothering her, I could check it out, but I'd miss the meeting completely. Luna would kill me._' The sad look in Ami's deep blue eyes tugged at her heartstrings however, and she made a decision. She grabbed her friend's arm and tugged her down the street.

"Rei! Where are we going?"

"We're going to cheer you up! Let's go on the boat ride today." Ami tilted her head slightly. She had cram school but…

_'I can miss a day.'_

*XXX*

"The view really is great from here." Ami nodded in agreement to Rei's statement. They had rented a boat and we enjoying the lake.

"I wish they wouldn't destroy this place, it so pretty." Rei nodded in agreement, then started in surprise as she felt Ami lay her head on her shoulder. Hesitantly, she put an arm around her, which drew them closer together_. 'This feels like a familiar action. We're just friends aren't we?'_ Rei then happened to glance over the top of Ami's head and noticed the darkness that seemed to be emanating from the mainland. She clenched her jaw_. 'What's going on over there?'_

Suddenly, a flock of birds barreled towards the two, knocking them out of the boat. Ami quickly popped up, followed by Rei. What was that?"

Rei shrugged. "I guess some geese got too close when coming in for a landing."

Ami frowned. "No, not only were those not geese, they weren't even waterfowl. First Mr. Shinji acts extremely out of character, then all those reports about aggressive animals, what's happening in this park?"

By this point they were on the shores of the lake and Rei stood up_. 'This sounds like a plot of the Dark Kingdom, I need to get out of here fast.'_ "Well, I'm soaked, so how about we go home and change. I'll meet you at the Crown Parlor in thirty minutes!" With that, she took off, not even waiting for an answer.

Ami lifted a hand to call after her friend, but she was already gone. _'The entrance is in the opposite direction.'_ Then she heard a familiar shout_. 'That sounds like Mr. Shinji!'_ She quickly hurried in the direction the sound had come from.

*XXX*

Nephrite cackled as he cornered the gardener. "You have reached your peak energy level. Now, prepare to have it drained!" He stuck out his hand, and Shinji let out a strangled scream. As the energy was sucked from him, it turned his brown hair shock white and gave him the look of a gaunt old man.

Nephrite was about to take his leave when a voice interrupted him.

"Leave him alone!" Surprised, he turned, expecting to find a Sailor Senshi, but merely found a young teenaged girl. 'No, not merely. She has an incredible amount of untapped energy inside of her. Half her energy is more than twice his. Beryl will be pleased!'

Nephrite grinned coldly as he snapped his fingers. At one, a monster with the head of a female and the body of a flower appeared. "Take her energy at once! All of it; suck her dry!"

The woman grinned nastily, and Ami backed away in fear. Vines sprouted and trapped her against a tree. No matter how she struggled, they refused to loosen, and even became tighter. The thorn dug into her skin, but soon she felt a greater pain, almost like the life was being sucked out of her. _'This is just like at the cram school.' _She felt herself grow weaker, and slowly, a weak light emanated from her.

Nephrite frowned curiously as he saw the light become stronger and stronger. Then, he noticed the vines were no longer effective. He walked over and yanked the barely conscious head up_. 'This is the astrological sign for-'_Before he could finish his thought, the air grew unnaturally cold, and the vines began to ice over. "What is this, what's happening?"

Sailor Mars watched from the top of a tree. She had seen Ami get attacked, but knew she had to wait for a distraction. She saw him begin to shout at his youma as an odd fog began to form. Then she grinned, taking her chance.

"Fire…Soul!" A large, red flame burst forth from her fingertips and headed straight for the monster, whose vines quickly burned up. Nephrite was so surprised he dropped the sphere full of energy, most of which went back into the drained gardener. Not waiting for her comrades, Mars began a ferocious attack, launching a flame charged ofuda at the demon, who didn't stand a chance, and quickly burned up.

Despite her intense want to check on her friend first, the Senshi checked over Shinji, who was just coming to. His hair had regained its brown color again, and he no longer looked gaunt. He profusely thanked her before gasping at the site of his young friend.

"Ami! My dear, you're so cold…!" Mars widened her yes at the statement and hurried over. _'He's right, she's like ice, but she's breathing normally.'_

"I'll take over from here, Sir. Please go and tend to your flowers." Anxiously, he com plied, but looked over his shoulder several times as he walked away.

Once she was sure he was gone, Mars held Ami close to her, trying to warm her back into consciousness. _'Is it her clothes? No, my fire superheated them. Why is she like this, it's almost like she's dead!"_ She gasped as a painful vision attacked.

_A battle clashed around her, and the screams of people dying filled the air. She held one warrior in her arms, her only love. Struck down by a sword, she now lay dying in her arms. Rei cold hear herself screaming over and over, but the sound to muted itself, as did all the colors. Everything began to blend together she also fell to the ground…._

"…Mars?" the Senshi blinked as she heard the hesitant sound of her name.

"Wh-what?"

"Are you okay, you were sobbing?" She blinked, and realized there were tears streaming down her cheeks. She tried to wipe them away, but her gloves got in the way. Ami held out a small handkerchief.

"Use this, it will be much easier then rubber gloves." Mars smiled thankfully before standing up.

"Now that I'm sure you're okay, I should take my leave." As she turned to go, a hand stopped her.

"Thank you for saving me." Ami met her eyes and blushed slightly. Mars coughed, before giving a small smile.

"Thank me by not getting into another dangerous situation."

*XXX*

Luna and the other Senshi finally arrived, but of course, much too late. Mars met them in the clearing and they all detransformed.

Makoto was a bit irked. "Taking all the fun for yourself. I wanted to kick some butt too."

Rei grinned sheepishly. "Well, the situation called for quick action, so I took it."

"Naturally, you didn't call until after the battle was long over." Luna was upset at not having been able to get anymore readings on Nephrite.

Rei clenched her teeth, knowing the cat was looking for a fight. "I'm sorry I missed the meeting. I needed the cheer up a friend."

"That's not an excuse. You made a commitment, Rei. Lately you seemed to have forgotten that."

"You insipid little-" Rei happened to glance at her watch_. 'I only have a couple of minutes left!'_ 'We can finish this later. I have other duties to attend to." She quickly rushed off.

*XXX*

Ami glanced at the large clock. Rei had said thirty minutes, and even with the altercation in the forest, she still had about thirty seconds left.

"Ames!" Ami turned and smiled at the breathless Rei.

"Ah, you're here, and with twenty eight seconds to spare." She then frowned slightly as she took her friend in. _'She changed out of a wet uniform into another dry uniform? Why not put on regular clothes?'_

Rei followed her eyes and froze. _'Crap, I forgot I said I was going to change. She must think I'm a complete flake!' _She chuckled nervously. "I know, but I was running out of time and put on the first thing I saw. Now how about you treat a breathless girl to some ice cream?"

Ami playfully stuck her nose in the air. "Oh, and here I thought I was the one being treated."

"If you've had a worse afternoon than me, then I sure will!"

"I'll have you know, I got into a fight that involved the Sailor Senshi."

"Really?" Rei feigned surprise. "Were you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine, but I believe this qualifies me as the treatee."

Rei stuck out her arm in a gentlemanly manner, which Ami took. They locked eyes for a moment, before they burst into laughter as they walked to the ice cream parlor.

Neither noticed the black cat and three girls just coming out of the park, watching the whole thing.

*XXX*

_A/N: Dang it, I wanted to post this yesterday but got distracted. I think I'm gonna try for 2-3 updates a month, since unlike most of my stories; this is planned out completely in my head. There will be more of the other Senshi in coming chapters, I promise! Questions, comments, or concerns? PM or review! Vale._


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